A Moment of Success!!!
Name: Junior R. Bernard
A Moment of Success
Never could I imagine how incredible it would feel to receive positive results of an important test. In May of 2010, I applied for a scholarship at Alvernia University. It was astonishing when I received a call from the office of administration about my scholarship request. I was told that I would qualify for their scholarship; however, since I am an international student, I was required to take the GED test (General Educational Development) in order to be eligible for the scholarship. The Alvernia staff wanted me to take the GED exam in order to make sure that I was competent enough to be enrolled in their academic programs.
I found out that I was required to take the GED test within four months, which was a little bit of a dilemma for me. I was doubtful that I would pass the test. I had such a short amount of time to take the exam, and I had just arrived to the US from Haiti by that moment. The GED test was in English. Actually, I did not know the language well enough academically to be able to pass it. In spite of all, I started to study very hard. I even woke up at night to hit the books. I often had to study many Math and Reading chapters that were difficult for me to comprehend. At a moment, all I kept wondering was, what am I going to do if I don’t pass the test? Honestly, I desperately needed to get that scholarship, and I didn’t want to give up on the test preparation even if it seemed to be impossible for me to accomplish that project.
While preparing for the test, there was a moment that everything appeared to be difficult for me to understand. I automatically began to lose faith. I was very concerned for not knowing how I was going to make this dream come true in that very limited time. Unfortunately, I came to feel so lonely. I didn’t have anyone to ask for help when I needed it. Other people were able to only wish me luck, but that didn’t help me much. I would sometimes cry. Eventually, I had struggled to memorize and apply all the GED information. In spite of everything, the presence of the Lord was there with me. Without my faith, I would have felt like I was living in a deep dark hole with absolutely no hope of seeing the light. God had helped me erase all of the pessimistic thoughts and kept me studying, even though it would sometimes seem like I was studying in vain.
At the day of the exam, I went to take my GED test at a Testing Center. After taking the exam, someone at the Testing Center told me to expect my score online in a few days. Surprisingly, a week later, I was in my bedroom listening to the song Sign of a Victory by R. Kelly, which has always given me fortitude. While listening to the song, I opened the link just to see if my scores were already uploaded. The results were there, and I just could not believe that I had passed the GED exam! Eventually, I scored even higher than I had hoped. It was truly a miraculous moment in my life, which is one I will never forget. I spent the rest of the week smiling and praising God for answering my desperate pleas. Not only did I pass the test, but also I obtained the scholarship from Alvernia University! It was truly a moment of happiness for me.
Even though succeeding with this exam is only one small piece to the puzzle, I am finally beginning to see what the end picture will look like. Success doesn’t come overnight, and I know the goals I have set for myself are challenging for anyone to accomplish. However, this one moment in my life proved me that I can achieve anything if I have work hard enough and put my faith in God.
